Roller cage



Aug. 22, 1944. o. H. BANKER 2,355,253g

v ROLLER GAGE Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f @im ug- 22, 19440 v G. H. BANKER v 2,356,298

ROLLER CAGE Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j/ l' 7,( (L

if JZ fin/@22 for: scar /aaffer Patented Ang. 22,

ROLLER CAGE Oscar H. Banker, Evanston, Ill., assignor to New Products Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Original application December 26, 1941, Serial No. 424,438. Divided and this application January 24, 1944, Serial No. 519,427

2 Claims.

This invention has to do with a cage for maintaining the spacing of bearing or clutch rollers or the like and relates more particularly to an improved single-piece cage structure capable of production by an expedient method. This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 424,438 flied December 26, 1941, for Method of making a roller cage, which in turn is a division of my application Serial No. 297,439 filed October 2, 1939, for Roller cage and method of making the same, abandoned July 16, 1942-.

It has been found that the conventional types of roller cages, which are fabricated from a number of parts, occasionally break during use and the parts have a tendency to become loosened so the rollers are no longer held with precision. That is, the sections at which the parts are joined by now known commercially practical methods are inherently weaker than the material from which they were formed, so that when these devices are subjected to the jars. and stresses encountered in service they frequently become ,impaired at these points. Breakage is sometimes caused when a roller lodges tightly against solidified bearing lubricant and/or foreign matter accumulated therein.

This breakage or other impairment occurs in fabricated cages used for holding the friction elements or so-called rollers of over-running clutches as well as in such cages used in roller bearing units.

The present invention is particularly advantageous when applied to cages for closely spaced rollers of small diameter. In such a design of conventional structure the spacerV or axially extending bars are necessarily thin in both their transverse dimensions, and are consequently critically weakened by the removal of material at their ends for receiving pins or other means for securing them to the cage rings. Others have endeavored to meet this problem by making the rollers hollow for receiving reinforcing pins which are then attached at their opposite ends to the cage end rings. This, however, is an expensive structure, and has the further disadvantage of diminishing the rollers load capacity.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned difliculties by providing a novel one-piece cage which involves no inherently weak joints.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved roller cage of a design especially adapted for economical production by the use of automatic machinery.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a new one-piece roller cage containing a series of roller-receiving slots formed by effecting paired intersecting cuts in adjacent radial zones of an annulusI each slot having a pair of opposed flat faces for engaging opposite circumferential sides of a roller and a pair of opposed flat faces for engaging the opposite ends of said roller.

Additional objects will become apparent while reading the following description with reference to the annexed two sheets of drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 isan end view of an annular piece of metal stock from which any of the hereinafter described embodiments of the invention may be conveniently formed;

Fig. 2 is an axial sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; l

Figs. 3 to 5 are views taken similarly to Fig. 2 at respectively progressive stages in the process of treating the stock shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to form the first of said embodiments or devices;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the completed first device;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the first device as it may be assembled in an over-running clutch;

Fig. 8 is a. fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a roller bearing assembly employing a` modified or second form of the device;

Figs. 10 and 11 are views taken respectively on the lines IIJ-I0 and II-H inFig. 9;

Fig. 12 isa view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating a third form of the device;

Fig. 13 shows the device of Fig. 12 installed in a roller bearing assembly;

Fig. 14 is a view taken on the line I-II of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 15 is a view taken on the line |5-I5 of Fig. 14..l

The hereindescribed processes of making my improved embodiments of roller cage device lnvolve a series of machining operations by means of which portions of an annular metal ring I0, Figs. 1 and 2, are removed to leave a skeletonlike structure constituting a finished device. Although such a device is conveniently machined from a ring as I0 havinga body rectangular in section, it is to be understood that such ring body may have other sectional shapes, and particularly the ring may be cast or otherwise formed to more nearly correspond to the finished device and thereby eliminate one or more of the initial steps, or substantially diminish the amount of material necessarily removed during these steps.

When the first form of the device is made from a ring of stock as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, said ring may be turned in a lathe for removing material from an internal peripheral section until said ring has a cross section similar to thatillustrated in Fig. 3. Additional material is removed from the inner periphery of the ring until it has a cross sectional conguration as that illustrated in Fig. 4. At this point in the process the ring will have a flange I2 at one end and a flange I3 of greater radial extent at its opposite end.

After the ring has been turned down to some such shape as illustrated in Fig. 4, it may be placed upon a suitable work holder where it is subjected to a plurality of milling cuts or the like to form roller receiving slots I5; see Fig. 7. A milling wheel is schematically represented by the dotted line I6 in Fig. 5 in the position it would be relatively to the ring III at the end of a milling cut. The diameter of the milling wheel is so chosen as will enable it to make a cut entirely through the inner face of the bridge portion I1 of the ring without cutting through the. material of the ring at its ends; that is, without cutting axially of the ring in either direction beyond points such as I8 and I 9. 'Ihis step is facilitated by the previous removal of material from the inner periphery of the ring. t

Following each cut for effecting a roller receiving slot I5, the work holder will be rotated or otherwise moved to bring an adjacent peripheral area of the ring into registry with the milling wheel preparatory to making a succeeding cut. Such movement of the work holder may be indexed and coordinated with an approach and retractive movement of the milling wheel so the work holder will be moved to bring a new section of the ring into registry with said wheel prior to each approach of said wheel toward the ring for cutting out the registered area. 'I'his action is continued until a series of slots have been formed about the entire circumferential periphery of the ring. Unremoved portions of material between the slots I5 constitute bars 20.

An examination of Figs. 5, 7 and 8 will reveal that the effective end faces Fe of the slots I5 arel disposed in one radial zone of the ring upon sections of the opposed radial faces of the annular internal groove G, whereas the sidefaces Fs of said slots are disposed in an adjacent outer radial zone upon opposite sides of the bars 26. The hereinabove referred to flanges I2 and I2 become, in effect, rings integral with such bars at their opposite ends.

Following the milling operation for forming the slots I5, the opposed surfaces of the bars and the inner and opposed surfaces of the rings I2 and I3 may be polished. Other surfaces of the device may be likewise treated.

Subsequent to the forming of the flange or ring I3 as illustrated in Figs. 3 to 5, sections thereof may be removed to leave inwardly directed radial lugs 22. These lugs, in the present instance, are for limiting rotative movement of the cage relative to an internal actuator member 24 of an over-running clutch, fragmentarily shown in Fig. 7.

Said actuator member of the over-running clutch, into which the present cage is assembled as a part, is internally splined to enable it to t nonrotatively upon a shaft or the like constituting a driving or driven part. A plurality of camming surfaces aref provided upon said actuator member. A friction ring 26 disposed co-axially with the actuator member 24 presents a circular surface 21 in opposed relation to the cam surfaces 26. Clutch rollers 2l, corresponding in number with the cam surfaces 26, are disposed within the slots I6 of the present cage device. which is then carried into assembly with the parts 24 and 26 in a manner to place the rollers 26 respectively upon the cam surfaces 26. Such spacing of the rollers 2l is maintained by the cage. The cage lugs 22 are disposed between stop members as axially projecting lugs 2l and 36 on the actuatormember 24 for hunting rotative movement of the cage relatively to said member.

In the operation of the device, assuming the outer ring 26 is connected with a driven part and that the internal member 24 is connected with a driving part, clockwise rotation of the member 24 will cause the rollers 26 to roll upwardly of the cam surfaces 25 and thereby become wedged therebetween and the inner periphery of the ring 26 wherefore driving force will be transmitted through the rollers and the ring 26 for driving the loaded part. If the member 24 were to be rotated in the opposite direction, counterclockwise, relatively to the ring 26, or, if the ring 26 were to be rotated clockwise relatively to the member 24, the clutch rollers 26 would be moved downwardly with respect to the inclined cam surfaces 25 and permit such relative counter-clockwise rotation of the part 24 or relative clockwise rotation of the part 26.

Certain uses for roller bearing units require that the rollers shall be comparatively long, small in diameter and closely spaced. Under circumstances of this kind, the cage bars are necessarily long and of small cross sectional area, making it advisable to reinforce these bars. The second embodiment of my invention, shown in Figs. 9 to 11 as a part of a roller bearing assembly, includes bars that are so reinforced.

In making this second form of the device a ring, as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, will first be given two internal circumferential cuts as those shown at 40 and 4I in Fig. 9. Such cuts 40 and 4I will leave an annular radially projecting portion 42. Thereafter, a series of miling cuts similar to those described with respect to Fig. 5 will be made for effecting the circumferentially spaced slots for receiving rollers as 42, The illustrated rollers 43 are bearing rollers which roll about a shaft 44 and the inner surfaces of a ring or race 45.

During operation of the roller bearing assembly shown in Fig. 9, if any roller should become clogged to resist movement whereby an unusual stress should be applied to any of the cage bars. the projecting portion 42 upon such bar would be pressed against the shaft 44 and thus offer support for said bar. Thus, in addition to the projections 42 providing greater strength because of increasing the cross sectional area of their bars, said sections provide a lateral support therefor when pressed against the shaft. The cuts taken at 40 and 4I may be only broad enough axially of the device to enable the milling wheel to cut completely through the ring at the Points 46 and 41. When this practice is followed the projecting reinforcing and supporting portions 42 will be very long and have their greatest effect for reinforcing and supporting their bars.

A third form of the invention is shown in Fig. 12 and also in Figs. 13 to 15 where it is assembled as a part of a roller bearing unit. In making this form of the device a ring as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, when placed in the lathe, is treated externally to form a groove 6I. Thereafter', the ring is given a series of axial broaching cuts spaced circumferentially about its internal periphery to form spacer bars 52. These cuts are sufficiently deep to effect openings in the bottom of the groove 5I and thus provide roller pockets or slots for this cage 50. The bearing unit, Figs. 13, 14 and 15, with which the cage 50 is assembled includes roller bearings 53 disposed between inner and outer race members 54 and 55. In these figures it will be observed that the original cut taken in the external periphery of the vring leaves opposed faces 55 and 51 for engaging the ends of the roller bearings 53 to prevent their axial displacement. These faces are disposed in one radial zone of the device. The rollers 53 are maintained in their proper circumferential spacing by opposed faces as 58 and 58 upon the bars 52; see Figs. 14 and 15, these faces being disposed in a vradial zone inwardly of and adjacent to that containing said faces 54 and 55.

Here, as in the first two described forms of the device, the opposed faces as 55 and 51 at opposite ends of the roller slots and the faces as 58 and 59 at opposite sides of said slots are all formed by standard simple machining operations which leave clean, smooth surfaces intersecting in such a manner that no filing or other dressing or 1inishing operations are necessary. Each of the hereindescribed forms of the device is therefore especially adapted to be manufactured entirely by automatic machine operations and hence is capable of economical production. Moreover, these advantages are coupled with the further advantage that the new device possesses greater strength and wearing qualities.

I claim:

1. A one-piece roller cage comprising a cylindrical body having an annular groove within its inner periphery and havingwithin its exterior periphery a plurality of circumferentially spaced grooves decreasing in depth near their ends but of sufficient depth in an intermediate portionto communicate with said annular groove and thus form roller-receiving openings in the bottom thereof.

2. A roller`cage comprising an annular piece of stock material having a pair of axially spaced internal circumferential grooves and a plurality of external radially directed grooves spaced circumferentially about said piece, said axially spaced grooves providing an inwardlyv projecting section therebetween, said radially directed grooves having opposed axially disposed faces and being sufficiently deep to communicate with said laxially spaced grooves and with the interior of said piece through said inwardly projecting section, the radially directed grooves being thus cooperative with said axially spaced grooves to form roller slots of which the sides are provided in an outer radial zone by said opposed axially disposed faces and of which the ends are provided in an adjacent inner radial zone by opposed sections on the outer sides of said axially spaced grooves at positions radially aligned with the radially directed grooves.

OSCAR H. BANKER. 

